Venom 5 (October 2011)

Wow.

The comic opens, unfortunately, with Tony Moore. He handles the Venom part, Tom Fowler handles the Flash Thompson part. My complaints about Remender waiting on establishing Flash are, it turns out, ill-founded. At least they appear to be after this issue.

It’s a depressing look at Flash’s family life, with occasional callbacks to his origins in Amazing, without going so far as to flashback (though Fowler’s Peter Parker is definitely Ditko influenced). Fowler’s lush work turns a regular kitchen conversation between Flash and Betty into the most exciting action in the comic. Fowler drawing someone cutting carrots is more visually engaging than Moore showing Venom webbing a falling chrch bell.

While Flash’s vet stuff makes it topical, Remender and Fowler transcend it (I wonder if Remender realized how edgy it was to make the homeless vet young). They make a comic about Venom as a secret agent timeless.

Venom 4 (August 2011)

Why did Tony Moore have to come back? He ruins the last scene of the comic, with Pete and Flash having their first sit down as unknowing nemeses. The scene should have been a mixture of confusing, ominous and fun. Moore ruins it.

Remender focuses mostly on action this issue. Spidey and Venom continue fighting–with some of the bad guys showing up for another action scene–and the aforementioned quiet finish.

It should have all worked well. Remender is comfortable with Flash and his dialogue is fine… so what happened?

The comic can’t hold up without compelling art. As an action comic, the art is often the only communication method for a couple pages when dialogue balloons take a break.

Remender plotted this issue, and the last two, as continuous. It makes it so Flash doesn’t have much resonance yet.

It’s also hard to return to Moore after Fowler.

Venom 2 (June 2011)

Moore really starts to hinder Venom this issue. Maybe the flashy inks (no pun intended) weren’t enough to correct his weaker impulses. There’s a scene with Peter and Betty (Remender does a good job bringing in the traditional Spidey soap opera, even if it’s Flash’s book) and Moore fumbles the entire thing. He can’t do the scene.

But the opening art, with Venom on the run from Kraven in the Savage Land, isn’t bad. The first few pages at least are decent, probably because Moore’s drawing Venom in costume. Or in alien slime.

Remender does a quick little reference or two to “Kraven’s Last Hunt” and Venom feels like a trip through Spider-Man history. Like a guided tour (but there are no reminders to check out the original stories).

But it’s surprisingly good stuff. Remender continues to write Flash quite well; he makes Venom worthwhile, overpowering Moore’s weak art.